Quick Guide for Creating Accessible Pdfs

Home , Context menu, Radio button

WWW.NEWEDITIONS.NET Quick Guide for Creating Accessible PDFs Setting a Logical Reading Order Structuring Lists & Table of Contents (TOC) Document content is read in the order in which the content appears in the It is important to structure lists properly to ensure proper Tags tree. It is best to only manipulate the tags in the Tags pane. Check the relationships and hierarchy are provided. Bulleted or reading order by: numbered lists should contain L, LI, Lbl, and LBody tags. The 1. Open the Tags pane bullet or number text tag is placed as a child of the Lbl tag. 2. Activate the context menu (or right click) of any tag and ensure The text of the item is placed as a child of the LBody tag. Highlight Content is selected. a. Note the selected tag’s content will be highlighted in the Table of Contents need to have document area. a TOC, TOCI, Reference, and 3. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate up and down and Link structure for linked TOCs. determine if the order of the content is in the visually implied order. The item description, leader, page number and Link-OBJR are placed as a child of the Applying Heading Structure Link tag. Examples of proper list and TOC Headings identify sections of information. Headings also assist users structure are provided. navigate documents and understand the hierarchy of information. Headings To create a list or table of contents structure: should be ordered properly (using H1 followed by H2, through H6). Not every 1. In the Tags pane, activate the context menu (or right click) near a emphasized phrase (bold, italicized, etc.) should be structured as a heading. tag where the new list or TOC should be placed. 1. Locate the container tag (P, Span, etc.) containing the text that 2. Select New Tag. should be structured as a heading in the Tags pane. 3. In the New Tag dialog, from the Type drop down select List (L) or 2. Activate the context menu (or right click) of Table of Contents (TOC). the container tag and select Properties. 4. Activate the OK button. 3. In the Object Properties dialog, on the Tag 5. Activate the context menu (or right click) of the newly created tag tab from the Type drop down select the and select New Tag. appropriate Heading Level tag type. 6. In the New Tag dialog, from the Type drop down select List Item Handling Repetitive or Decorative Content (LI) or Table of Contents Item (TOCI). Non-distinct header and footer content, decorative images, drawing remnants 7. If necessary, move the new LI or TOCI tag beneath the L or TOC and others should be labeled as artifacts. (respectively) as a child tag. 1. Locate the tag containing the decorative or repetitive content in the 8. Repeat the steps to access the New Tag dialog and select Label Tags pane. Select the tag containing the text to artifact, not the (Lbl) and List Item Body (LBody) to complete a List structure. container (P, Figure, Span, etc.) Select Reference then Link to complete a TOC structure. 2. Activate the context menu (or right click) of the tag and select 9. Move the structure tags and the text content tags as necessary to Change Tag to Artifact. match a similar outline as the example images. 3. Navigate to and activate OK in the Create Artifact dialog. Constructing a Sub-List Often times lists and table of contents contain nested, or sub-list, items. These items must be properly placed in the structure to provide users with the correct hierarchy information. Sub-lists must have a new parent L or TOC tag as a sibling to the text tag in which the sub-item relates. Examples of proper structure follow.

Quick Guide for Creating Accessible PDFs Designing Tables Tables must have a tag structure that includes Table, TR, TH, and TD tags. TH is a row or column header. TD represents the data cells. There are two types of data tables. In a simple data table a data cell has a 1-to-1 relationship with a row and/or column header. In a complex table data cells can be related to two or more row and/or column headers. Example Simple Data Table: Header 1 Text Header 2 Text Header 3 Text Row Header Column 2, row Column 3, row Text 2 data cell text 2 data cell text

Use the steps provided in the Structuring Lists and Table of Contents section to create the structure for sub-lists. Arrange the tags as necessary to Example Tag Structure: nest them properly and appear similar to the example images. Creating Links A link must have the structure of the Link tag with the text tag and a Link- OBJR tag nested as siblings beneath Link. If a link needs to be added navigate to the Edit PDF pane. Select Link > Add / Edit Web or Document Link tool, select the content to be linked and follow the Create Link wizard. Often content is clickable with a mouse but does not have the Link-OBJR structure in the tags. To tag unmarked links: 1. In the Tags pane, navigate to the text tag that is intended to be a

link. Complex tables need to have IDs on the headers. The data cells need to list 2. Activate the context menu (or right click) of the tag and select Find. associated headers. The Table Editor can assist in identifying headers and 3. In the Find Element dialog, from the Find drop down select associating them. Access the Table Editor and add header associations by: Unmarked Links. 1. Navigate to the Accessibility pane and activate TouchUp Reading 4. Navigate to and activate the Find button. Order. 5. Upon the desired content being highlighted, navigate to and activate 2. Over the table structure, activate the context menu (or right click) the Tag Element button. and select Table Editor. 6. Navigate to and activate Close. 3. Select a table header cell, activate the context menu (or right click) 7. Confirm in the Tags pane that there is now a Link-OBJR tag as a and select Table Cell Properties. sibling to the text tag of the link. 4. In the Table Cell Properties dialog enter a name in the ID field. Then navigate to and activate the OK button.

WWW.NEWEDITIONS.NET

Quick Guide for Creating Accessible PDFs Addressing Color & Contrast Effective use of color will ensure that content is readable, accessible, and appealing. 1. Color should not be used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. a. Example, graphs may need textured patterns to represent a data set (this must be done in the source application). Or important information should have textual representation 5. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for all Table Header cells. before it such as an asterisk (*). 6. For each data cell, select the cell and select Table Cell Properties 2. Verify text color provides enough contrast against the background from the context menu (or right click). color. There must be a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1. 7. In the Table Cell Properties dialog select the Add (+) button for a. Use Edit PDF to select the desired text. Associated Header Cell IDs. b. Then use the Font Color picker to choose an appropriate 8. Add the headers in a bottom to top order in which the headers need color against the background. to be read. Making Fillable Forms Providing Alternate Text The structure of form fields is a

tag with a Often times in Adobe Acrobat images, charts and graphs are presented as nested Field Name – OBJR tag. In the Tags pane

tags. All meaningful images must provide a concise, meaningful the form object tags for text fields need to appear description. A meaningful image is one that is important to understanding the after the tag containing the text label of the field. surrounding content. Concise alternate text should not be more than 250 (Checkboxes and radio buttons should be characters. Complex images (graphs, charts, schemas, etc.) need longer positioned to the left of the labels, and thus before descriptions provided in surrounding text or in appendices. Alternate text can their text label in the tags.) be added or edited through the TouchUp Reading Order (TURO) tool. 1. Open the Accessibility pane. Navigate to and select the TouchUp Providing Tooltips for Form Fields Reading Order tool. Tooltips identify the purpose of the field to users. It is important that any 2. In the main document, locate the image that needs alternate text or constraint, formatting or group information is included in the tooltip. For edits to the alternate text. example, if a field is required that information needs to be part of the tooltip. 3. Activate the context menu (or right click) of the image and select Edit If a block of fields relate to a shipping address and another block relates to Alternate Text from the menu. billing, it is important to indicate the category before the field name – ex. 4. In the Alternate Text dialog, make the necessary changes or “Billing – City”. To add tooltips: additions. 1. Navigate to the Prepare Forms pane. 2. When the form editing mode becomes active, activate the context menu (or right click) of the desired form field and select Properties. 3. In the Properties dialog, on the General tab write a meaningful, concise description in the Tooltip field. 4. Navigate to and activate the Close button.

5. When finished, navigate to and activate the OK button.

WWW.NEWEDITIONS.NET

Quick Guide for Creating Accessible PDFs Grouping Radio Buttons Validate Accessibility with Full Check In order for radio buttons to perform as a related group they must have the Running the Full Check accessibility checker can help identify some same group name but unique choice names. For example, there could be accessibility issues; however, the checker cannot detect all potential issues. multiple questions with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ radio buttons. To set up radio buttons: It is necessary to additionally perform a manual inspection of the Tags 1. Navigate to the Prepare Forms pane. structure. To run Full Check: 2. When the form editing mode becomes active, activate the context 1. Navigate to and expand the Tools > Accessibility pane. menu (or right click) of the desired radio button and select 2. Locate and activate Full Check. Properties. 3. In the Accessibility Checker Options dialog review the settings 3. In the Properties dialog, on the General tab write the same and make any necessary adjustments. Tip: The default settings meaningful, concise description in the Name and Tooltip fields. usually provide sufficient results. Example: Question 1 or Gender. 4. When ready, navigate to and activate the Start Checking button. 4. Navigate to and activate the Options tab. 5. After the checker runs, results will appear in the Accessibility 5. In the Radio Button Choice field and Report pane on the left. enter the specific answer option for the 6. Review the results and make any necessary modifications. Most radio button. Example: Yes or Male. changes will need to be made through the Tags pane. Assistive technology announces the a. Activate the context menu (or right click) of an issue to Tooltip + Radio Button Choice. Explain, Check Again or Skip Rule. 6. Navigate to and activate the Close button. Using Document Properties It is important that documents provide a meaningful title and set the appropriate language so that the document can be interpreted as intended. 1) Navigate to File > Properties. a) To set a descriptive title, ensure the Description tab is active. i) Locate the Title field and enter a phrase that describes the purpose of the document. ii) Navigate to and select the Initial View tab. iii) Locate the Window Options > Show drop down and select Document Title from the options.

b) To set the primary language of the document, navigate to and select the Advanced tab. i) Under Reading Options select the primary language of the document from the Language drop down. 2) Navigate to and activate the OK button.